Moments.
Our lives are a collection of moments. Some utterly painful and full of yesterday's hurts. Some beautifully hopeful and full of tomorrow's promises.
I’ve had many moments in my lifetime, moments that changed me, challenged me. Moments that scared me and engulfed me. However, the biggest ones—the most heartbreaking and breathtaking ones—all included him.
I was ten years old when I lost my voice. A piece of me was stolen away, and the only person who could truly hear my silence was Brooks Griffin. He was the light during my dark days, the promise of tomorrow, until tragedy found him. Tragedy that eventually drowned him in a sea of memories.
This is the story of a boy and girl who loved each other, but didn’t love themselves. A story of life and death. Of love and broken promises.
Of moments.
(Book Three in the Elements Series. Complete Standalone. Coming Fall 2016.)

REVIEW

“Not all broken things need to be fixed. Sometimes they just need to be loved. It would be a shame if only people who were whole were deserving of love.”

This book was simply amazing. Every time I read a Brittainy Cherry book, I fall more and more in love with her writing. She doesn’t just tell you a story, she takes you on an amazing journey. These characters, they’re so raw and real, and so amazingly developed, you can’t help but fall in love with them. Brittainy is a one-click author for me, if she writes it, I’ll read it.

“The world keeps spinning because your heartbeats exist.”

The Silent Waters is Book 3 on The Element Series, although this is a series of books that revolve around the elements, Book 1 (The Air He Breathes), Book 2 (The Fire Between High and Lo), these books are complete standalones. The books are totally unrelated and the characters do not cross books. So you could skip the previous 2 books, although I strongly suggest you read them all. You will not be disappointed, they’re all amazing.

The Silent Waters tells the story of Maggie May and Brooks, neighbors, childhood best friends, and eventually lovers as they go through the best and worst experiences of their lives. From the prologue through the epilogue the story spans a few decades. Now, I’m not sure how much I want to say, I know I must sound like a broken record but sometimes you need to go into some books blind and discover them by yourself. And I definitely thing this is one of those. So, I will try not to spoil major plot points.

“I hadn’t known you could hear someone’s voice so clearly in the silent moments.”

Maggie May is a beautiful, smart and lively child that experiences a traumatic event that marks it forever. She is such a beautiful and amazingly developed character, I dare you not to fall in love with her. I felt so much for her and her struggles. She was truly remarkable.

“I didn’t always feel like smiling, but Brooks? He made me feel as if smiling was all I ever wanted to do.”

“He drove me crazy. His hold, his touch, his voice, his words. Everything about his soul lit me on fire, and I was proud to burn beside him.”

“I loved him. I wasn’t certain when it had happened. I wasn’t certain if it was a group of moments collected over time or simply the heroic act he’d performed while I was sleeping, but it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter when, or why, or how it had happened. It didn’t matter how many moments gathered together to form the love. It didn’t matter if it was right or wrong.”

And Brooks, what can I say about Brooks. He’s amazing and beautiful, patient and understanding. He was Maggie’s anchor, her beacon of light through the darkness. He was hers, completely. I loved everything about Brooks. He also went through a dark time and was able to overcome everything life threw at him. He’s definitely at the top of by Brittainy heroes, along with Logan.

“She quietly chuckled and rolled her eyes. I loved that. I loved when she laughed, even though it was so quiet. It was the closest thing I had to her voice.”

“It was freeing to feel so much with someone who felt it too. It was during those moments that I felt I learned the most about her. It was in those moments that she learned the most about me.”

“I love you, Maggie May,” he whispered, looking into my eyes. “I mean, I keep staring at you, and I can’t help but think, ‘Wow. I’m really loving this girl right now.’ You know? Everything about you, I love. The easy days and the hard ones, too. Maybe I love you even more on the hard days. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to say it yet, because I don’t know if you’re ready, but that’s okay. You take all the time you need, but I wanted to let you know, because when you love someone, I think you gotta scream it, otherwise the love in your chest becomes a bit heavy. It weighs you down, and you start wondering if the other person loves you, too. I’m not worried about that, though. I’m just sitting here, next to you, looking at the small freckles on your face that most people miss, thinkin’ about how much I love you in this moment.”

The love between them was definitely my favorite part of the book, it was so pure, so real, so powerful. It’s what kept them both going in difficult times and what kept me hopeful that they totally deserved a happy ending.

“Do you promise me the same type of love I’ve read about in my books? He shook his head, yawning. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me closer as I became engulfed by his warmth. “No, Maggie May. I promise you so much more.””

“Maggie May, you’re my favorite song.”

Being in love with someone didn’t mean you only loved them during the sunbeams. It meant you stood by their side during the cloudy nights, too.

“I was thankful for it all, the quiet moments and the painful ones, too. I was thankful for her willingness to allow me to bleed out against her. I was thankful for her bleeding out onto my soul.”

This book, it will hook you from the prologue all the way to the author’s note at the end. I felt a lot while reading this book. Happiness, sadness, fear, frustration, love, anger. It was truly a journey. It was also so moving and inspirational. And beautiful, just beautiful. As you can see, I have so many highlights, it’s not even funny. So much beauty in those words!

“That’s what true love meant to me. True love meant you could laugh at mistakes. True love meant you could whisper secrets. True love meant you never had to dance alone.”

“Love didn’t come with guidelines. It flowed into a person with only hope as its current. There wasn’t a list of rules to follow, making sure you cared for it correctly. It didn’t give you instructions to keep it pure. It simply showed up quietly, praying you wouldn’t let it slip away.”

So, needless to say, I absolutely, 100% recommend The Silent Waters. It’s one of my favorite books this year. It has all the feels and you will not be disappointed! And if you haven’t read the other 2 books in this series, do me a favor and pick those up too, they’re amazing. I can’t wait for the next book in this series.

“What he didn’t know was that he was the biggest adventure of my life. He was my favorite journey, my anchor that always led me home.”

“Moments. Humans always remember the moments. We recall the steps that led us to where we were meant to be. The words that inspired or crushed us. The incidents that scarred us and swallowed us whole. I’ve had many moments in my lifetime, moments that changed me, challenged me, moments that scared me and engulfed me. However, the biggest ones—the most heartbreaking and breathtaking ones—all included her.”

*An ARC was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*

About Brittainy C. Cherry

Brittainy Cherry has been in love with words since the day she took her first breath. She graduated from Carroll University with a Bachelors Degree in Theatre Arts and a minor in Creative Writing. She loves to take part in writing screenplays, acting, and dancing–poorly of course. Coffee, chai tea, and wine are three things that she thinks every person should partake in! Brittainy lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with her family. When she’s not running a million errands and crafting stories, she’s probably playing with her adorable pets.